Mentalization-based approach for schizophrenia spectrum disorders: a psychotherapeutic proposal for evolved schizophrenic trajectories and serious mental disorders.

There is a growing interest in psychotherapeutic approaches to pre-psychotic high-risk states or first-episode psychosis, where mentalization-based treatment has shown its utility. This article presents a mentalization-based approach for the treatment of those individuals diagnosed with an evolved schizophrenia spectrum disorder, whose characteristics make them especially inaccessible to reflective psychotherapeutic treatment. A synthesis of the conceptual frameworks that justify the needs for technical modification of the mentalization-based treatment foundational techniques is carried out, followed by the proposal of adaptations, with a focus in self-agency and patient-therapist dyad. Therapeutic interventions are outlined, including illustrative examples. The mentalizing approach presented here holds promise for future research and treatment opportunities for patients with evolved schizophrenia and other serious mental disorders.

Transient drop in the neutrophil count during COVID-19 regardless of clozapine treatment in patients with mental illness / Disminución transitoria del recuento de neutrófilos durante COVID-19 independiente del tratamiento con clozapina en pacientes con esquizofrenia

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An International Adult Guideline for Making Clozapine Titration Safer by Using Six Ancestry-Based Personalized Dosing Titrations, CRP, and Clozapine Levels.

This international guideline proposes improving clozapine package inserts worldwide by using ancestry-based dosing and titration. Adverse drug reaction (ADR) databases suggest that clozapine is the third most toxic drug in the United States (US), and it produces four times higher worldwide pneumonia mortality than that by agranulocytosis or myocarditis. For trough steady-state clozapine serum concentrations, the therapeutic reference range is narrow, from 350 to 600 ng/mL with the potential for toxicity and ADRs as concentrations increase. Clozapine is mainly metabolized by CYP1A2 (female non-smokers, the lowest dose; male smokers, the highest dose). Poor metabolizer status through phenotypic conversion is associated with co-prescription of inhibitors (including oral contraceptives and valproate), obesity, or inflammation with C-reactive protein (CRP) elevations. The Asian population (Pakistan to Japan) or the Americas' original inhabitants have lower CYP1A2 activity and require lower clozapine doses to reach concentrations of 350 ng/mL. In the US, daily doses of 300-600 mg/day are recommended. Slow personalized titration may prevent early ADRs (including syncope, myocarditis, and pneumonia). This guideline defines six personalized titration schedules for inpatients: 1) ancestry from Asia or the original people from the Americas with lower metabolism (obesity or valproate) needing minimum therapeutic dosages of 75-150 mg/day, 2) ancestry from Asia or the original people from the Americas with average metabolism needing 175-300 mg/day, 3) European/Western Asian ancestry with lower metabolism (obesity or valproate) needing 100-200 mg/day, 4) European/Western Asian ancestry with average metabolism needing 250-400 mg/day, 5) in the US with ancestries other than from Asia or the original people from the Americas with lower clozapine metabolism (obesity or valproate) needing 150-300 mg/day, and 6) in the US with ancestries other than from Asia or the original people from the Americas with average clozapine metabolism needing 300-600 mg/day. Baseline and weekly CRP monitoring for at least four weeks is required to identify any inflammation, including inflammation secondary to clozapine rapid titration.

Brief day hospital mentalization based group psychotherapy for schizophrenia spectrum disorders: A feasibility study.

BACKGROUND: Mentalization-based therapy (MBT), a manualized psychodynamically and developmentally oriented psychotherapy, has been proven effective in controlled studies in non-psychotic patients with severe mental disorders. Although MBT is currently being used to treat schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD), to date no prospective studies have evaluated outcomes and treatment-related adverse effects. Brief mentalization-based group psychotherapy (B-MBGT) is a 12-week program based on the explicit mentalizing techniques of MBT. The study was conducted at a day hospital (DH) and the main objective was to examine the feasibility of B-MBGT to treat patients with SSD. METHOD: Open study to assess the safety of B-MBGT in 72 patients who met DSM-IV criteria for schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, schizoaffective disorder, or unspecified psychotic disorder. All patients underwent both B-MBGT and Integrated Psychological Therapy (IPT). Consequently, a secondary aim was to compare these two therapies in terms of acceptance and subjective efficacy. RESULTS: Adverse reactions were scarce and the most common of the reported ones, discomfort during the group treatment session, was considered mild in most cases. Compared to IPT, B-MBGT yielded significant higher scores on four subjective efficacy parameters. CONCLUSION: B-MBGT in DH is both feasible and safe in SSD patients and most patients in this study considered B-MBGT to be beneficial. Controlled studies are needed to determine the effectiveness of B-MBGT.

Psicoterapia de grupo breve basada en la mentalización en hospital de día para trastornos del espectro esquizofrénico: Un estudio de viabilidad / Brief day hospital mentalization based group psychotherapy for schizophrenia spectrum disorders: A feasibility study

INTRODUCCIÓN: La terapia basada en la mentalización (TBM), una psicoterapia manualizada de orientación psico-dinámica y en la teoría del desarrollo, ha demostrado efectividad en estudios controlados en pacientes con trastornos mentales graves no psicóticos. Aunque la TBM se utiliza en el tratamiento de los trastornos del espectro esquizofrénico (TEE), hasta la fecha no se han realizado estudios prospectivos para evaluar los resultados y los efectos adversos. La terapia de grupo breve basada en la mentalización (B-TGBM) es un programa de 12 semanas basado en las técnicas de mentalización explícita de la TBM. El estudio se realizó en un hospital de día (HD) y el objetivo principal fue examinar la viabilidad de la B-TGBM en pacientes con TEE. MÉTODO: Estudio abierto para evaluar la seguridad de la B-TGBM en 72 pacientes que cumplían criterios DSM-IV de esquizofrenia, trastorno esquizofreniforme, trastorno esquizoafectivo o trastorno psicótico no especificado. Todos los pacientes realizaron B-TGBM y terapia psicológica integrada (IPT). Consecuentemente, un objetivo secundario fue compa-rar la aceptación y la eficacia subjetiva de estas dos terapias. RESULTADOS: Las reacciones adversas fueron escasas y la más común de las registradas, malestar durante la sesión de grupo, se consideró leve en la mayoría de los casos. Comparada con la IPT, la B-TGBM presentó puntuaciones significativamente superiores en cuatro de los parámetros de eficacia subjetiva. CONCLUSIÓN: La B-TGBM en HD es viable y segura en pacientes con TEE y la mayoría de los pacientes en este estudio la consideraron beneficiosa. Se necesitan estudios controla-dos para determinar la efectividad de la B-TGBM

BACKGROUND: Mentalization-based therapy (MBT), a manualized psychodynamically and developmentally orient-ed psychotherapy, has been proven effective in controlled studies in non-psychotic patients with severe mental disorders. Although MBT is currently being used to treat schizo-phrenia spectrum disorders (SSD), to date no prospective studies have evaluated outcomes and treatment-related adverse effects. Brief mentalization-based group psychotherapy (B-MBGT) is a 12-week program based on the explicit mentalizing techniques of MBT. The study was conducted at a day hospital (DH) and the main objective was to examine the feasibility of B-MBGT to treat patients with SSD. Method. Open study to assess the safety of B-MBGT in 72 patients who met DSM-IV criteria for schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, schizoaffective disorder, or unspecified psychotic disorder. All patients underwent both B-MBGT and Integrated Psychological Therapy (IPT). Consequently, a secondary aim was to compare these two therapies in terms of acceptance and subjective efficacy. RESULTS: Adverse reactions were scarce and the most common of the reported ones, discomfort during the group treatment session, was considered mild in most cases. Compared to IPT, B-MBGT yielded significant higher scores on four subjective efficacy parameters. CONCLUSION: B-MBGT in DH is both feasible and safe in SSD patients and most patients in this study considered B-MBGT to be beneficial. Controlled studies are needed to determine the effectiveness of B-MBGT

Fruit, vegetable, and legume intake, and cardiovascular disease and deaths in 18 countries (PURE): a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The association between intake of fruits, vegetables, and legumes with cardiovascular disease and deaths has been investigated extensively in Europe, the USA, Japan, and China, but little or no data are available from the Middle East, South America, Africa, or south Asia. METHODS: We did a prospective cohort study (Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology [PURE] in 135 335 individuals aged 35 to 70 years without cardiovascular disease from 613 communities in 18 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries in seven geographical regions: North America and Europe, South America, the Middle East, south Asia, China, southeast Asia, and Africa. We documented their diet using country-specific food frequency questionnaires at baseline. Standardised questionnaires were used to collect information about demographic factors, socioeconomic status (education, income, and employment), lifestyle (smoking, physical activity, and alcohol intake), health history and medication use, and family history of cardiovascular disease. The follow-up period varied based on the date when recruitment began at each site or country. The main clinical outcomes were major cardiovascular disease (defined as death from cardiovascular causes and non-fatal myocardial infarction, stroke, and heart failure), fatal and non-fatal myocardial infarction, fatal and non-fatal strokes, cardiovascular mortality, non-cardiovascular mortality, and total mortality. Cox frailty models with random effects were used to assess associations between fruit, vegetable, and legume consumption with risk of cardiovascular disease events and mortality. FINDINGS: Participants were enrolled into the study between Jan 1, 2003, and March 31, 2013. For the current analysis, we included all unrefuted outcome events in the PURE study database through March 31, 2017. Overall, combined mean fruit, vegetable and legume intake was 3·91 (SD 2·77) servings per day. During a median 7·4 years (5·5-9·3) of follow-up, 4784 major cardiovascular disease events, 1649 cardiovascular deaths, and 5796 total deaths were documented. Higher total fruit, vegetable, and legume intake was inversely associated with major cardiovascular disease, myocardial infarction, cardiovascular mortality, non-cardiovascular mortality, and total mortality in the models adjusted for age, sex, and centre (random effect). The estimates were substantially attenuated in the multivariable adjusted models for major cardiovascular disease (hazard ratio [HR] 0·90, 95% CI 0·74-1·10, ptrend=0·1301), myocardial infarction (0·99, 0·74-1·31; ptrend=0·2033), stroke (0·92, 0·67-1·25; ptrend=0·7092), cardiovascular mortality (0·73, 0·53-1·02; ptrend=0·0568), non-cardiovascular mortality (0·84, 0·68-1·04; ptrend =0·0038), and total mortality (0·81, 0·68-0·96; ptrend<0·0001). The HR for total mortality was lowest for three to four servings per day (0·78, 95% CI 0·69-0·88) compared with the reference group, with no further apparent decrease in HR with higher consumption. When examined separately, fruit intake was associated with lower risk of cardiovascular, non-cardiovascular, and total mortality, while legume intake was inversely associated with non-cardiovascular death and total mortality (in fully adjusted models). For vegetables, raw vegetable intake was strongly associated with a lower risk of total mortality, whereas cooked vegetable intake showed a modest benefit against mortality. INTERPRETATION: Higher fruit, vegetable, and legume consumption was associated with a lower risk of non-cardiovascular, and total mortality. Benefits appear to be maximum for both non-cardiovascular mortality and total mortality at three to four servings per day (equivalent to 375-500 g/day). FUNDING: Full funding sources listed at the end of the paper (see Acknowledgments).

Fruit, vegetable, and legume intake, and cardiovascular disease and deaths in 18 countries (PURE): a prospective cohort study

Background The association between intake of fruits, vegetables, and legumes with cardiovascular disease and deaths has been investigated extensively in Europe, the USA, Japan, and China, but little or no data are available from the Middle East, South America, Africa, or south Asia.Methods We did a prospective cohort study (Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology [PURE] in 135 335 individuals aged 35 to 70 years without cardiovascular disease from 613 communities in 18 low-income, middle-income, and highincome countries in seven geographical regions: North America and Europe, South America, the Middle East, south Asia, China, southeast Asia, and Africa. We documented their diet using country-specific food frequency questionnaires at baseline. Standardised questionnaires were used to collect information about demographic factors, socioeconomic status (education, income, and employment), lifestyle (smoking, physical activity, and alcohol intake), health history and medication use, and family history of cardiovascular disease. The follow-up period varied based on the date whenrecruitment began at each site or country. The main clinical outcomes were major cardiovascular disease (defined as death from cardiovascular causes and non-fatal myocardial infarction, stroke, and heart failure), fatal and non-fatal myocardial infarction, fatal and non-fatal strokes, cardiovascular mortality, non-cardiovascular mortality, and total mortality. Cox frailty models with random effects were used to assess associations between fruit, vegetable, and legume consumption with risk of cardiovascular disease events and mortality.

Psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation - Outcome Measure.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this paper is to assess the reliability and validity of the Spanish translation of the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation - Outcome Measure, a 34-item self-report questionnaire that measures the client's status in the domains of Subjective well-being, Problems/Symptoms, Life functioning, and Risk. METHOD: Six hundred and forty-four adult participants were included in two samples: the clinical sample (n=192) from different mental health and primary care centers; and the nonclinical sample (n=452), which included a student and a community sample. RESULTS: The questionnaire showed good acceptability and internal consistency, appropriate test-retest reliability, and acceptable convergent validity. Strong differentiation between clinical and nonclinical samples was found. As expected, the Risk domain had different characteristics than other domains, but all findings were comparable with the UK referential data. Cutoff scores were calculated for clinical significant change assessment. CONCLUSION: The Spanish version of the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation - Outcome Measure showed acceptable psychometric properties, providing support for using the questionnaire for monitoring the progress of Spanish-speaking psychotherapy clients.

Comparison of treatment outcomes in severe personality disorder patients with or without substance use disorders: a 36-month prospective pragmatic follow-up study.

BACKGROUND: Concurrent personality disorder (PD) and substance use disorder (SUD) are common in clinical practice. However, SUD is the main criterion for study exclusion in most psychotherapeutic studies of PD. As a result, data on treatment outcomes in patients with concurrent PD/SUD are scarce. METHODS: The study sample consisted of 51 patients diagnosed with severe PD and admitted for psychotherapeutic treatment as a part of routine mental health care. All patients were diagnosed with PD according to the Structured Clinical Interview for PD. Patients were further assessed (DSM-IV diagnostic criteria) to check for the presence of concurrent SUD, with 28 patients diagnosed with both disorders (PD-SUD). These 28 cases were then compared to the 23 patients without SUD (PD-nSUD) in terms of psychiatric hospitalizations and psychiatric emergency room (ER) visits before and during the 6-month therapeutic intervention and every 6 months thereafter for a total of 36 months. RESULTS: The baseline clinical characteristics correspond to a sample of PD patients (78% met DSM-IV criteria for borderline PD) with poor general functioning and a high prevalence of suicide attempts and self-harm behaviors. Altogether, the five outcome variables - the proportion and the number of psychiatric inpatient admissions, the number of days hospitalized, and the proportion and the number of psychiatric ER visits - improved significantly during the treatment period, and this improvement was maintained throughout the follow-up period. Although PD-SUD patients had more psychiatric hospitalizations and ER visits than PD-nSUD patients during follow-up, the differences between these two groups remained stable over the study period indicating that the treatment was equally effective in both groups. CONCLUSION: Specialized psychotherapy for severe PD can be effectively applied in patients with concurrent PD-SUD under usual practice conditions. These findings suggest that exclusion of patients with dual disorders from specialized treatments is unjustified.

Reduction in serum concentration of valproic acid secondary to the intake of ibuprofen as an example of valproic acid auto-induction metabolism.

INTRODUCTION: In 1998, an unexplained drug-drug interaction between valproic acid (VPA) and ibuprofen was reported. VPA has been considered a moderate inhibitor of several metabolic enzymes, but recently its inductive properties have been described, including the possibility of auto-induction. Ibuprofen can displace VPA from the plasmatic protein, increasing its serum free concentration, and subsequently its pharmacological actions, including auto-induction. The objective of this article is to describe a similar case and to contribute to the clarification of the underlying pharmacokinetic mechanisms. METHODS: A 29-year-old Spanish Caucasian male with schizophrenia was followed with steady-state trough serum concentrations of VPA and clozapine for 5 years, including 3 ibuprofen trials. The main outcome variable was the concentration-to-dose (C/D) ratio, a measure of the ability to eliminate a drug. Independent sample Mann-Whitney U tests were performed to compare C/D ratios. RESULTS: Five VPA C/D ratios, contaminated by VPA auto-induction occurring during or shortly after the two latter ibuprofen trials, were significantly lower (p<0.001) than the other 34 VPA C/D ratios of VPA not contaminated by auto-induction. During the highest ibuprofen dose in the third trial, the patient had two very low clozapine C/D ratios, which were significantly lower than the other 26 clozapine C/D ratios (p=0.021). CONCLUSIONS: Reduction in total VPA concentrations could be explained by ibuprofen displacing VPA from the plasma proteins, increasing the serum free VPA. This may induce the metabolism of VPA (and clozapine) and subsequently decrease their serum total concentrations.

A DILEMMA-FOCUSED INTERVENTION FOR DEPRESSION: A MULTICENTER, RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL WITH A 3-MONTH FOLLOW-UP.

BACKGROUND: Since long ago it has been asserted that internal conflicts are relevant to the understanding and treatment of mental disorders, but little research has been conducted to support the claim. The aim of this study was to test the differential efficacy of group cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) plus an intervention focused on the dilemma(s) detected for each patient versus group individual CBT plus individual CBT for treating depression. A comparative controlled trial with a 3-month follow-up was conducted. METHODS: One hundred twenty-eight adults meeting criteria for MDD and/or dysthymia, presenting at least one cognitive conflict (implicative dilemma or dilemmatic construct, assessed by the repertory grid technique) and who had completed seven sessions of group CBT were randomly assigned to eight sessions of individual manualized CBT or dilemma-focused therapy (DFT). The Beck Depression Inventory-II was administered at baseline, at the end of therapy and after 3 months' follow-up. RESULTS: Multilevel mixed effects modeling yielded no significant differences between CBT and DFT with the intention-to-treat sample. Equivalent effect sizes, remission, and response rates were found with completers as well. In combination with group CBT, both individual CBT and DFT significantly reduced depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Both conditions obtained comparable results to those in the literature. Thus, the superiority of the adjunctive DFT was not demonstrated. Working with dilemmas can be seen as a promising additional target in the psychotherapy of depression, but further research is still required.

Efectividad de un programa terapéutico integrado para trastornos graves de la personalidad. Seguimiento pragmático de 36 meses / Effectiveness of an integrated treatment for severe personality disorders. A 36-month pragmatic follow-up

Introducción. En los últimos 25 años varios estudios han mostrado la eficacia de diversas intervenciones psicológicas para los trastornos graves de la personalidad. Sin embargo, la generalización de estos resultados positivos desde entornos con larga tradición investigadora a condiciones de práctica habitual ha sido cuestionada, reclamándose la replicación en estudios pragmáticos. Métodos. Este estudio pragmático compara las hospitalizaciones y las visitas a Urgencias antes y durante un programa terapéutico de 6 meses para trastornos graves de la personalidad y 36 meses después del inicio. El programa terapéutico, que integra varias intervenciones específicas en un encuadre coherente, se realizó en un entorno de práctica habitual. Se incluyeron 51 pacientes evaluados de acuerdo con criterios DSM-IV por medio de la versión española de la Entrevista Clínica Estructurada para Trastornos de la Personalidad (SCID-II). Resultados. Las características clínicas evidenciaron un grupo de pacientes muy graves, de los que el 78,4% cumplía criterios de trastorno límite de la personalidad. El porcentaje de pacientes hospitalizados y que visitaron Urgencias, así como el número de días de hospitalización y de visitas a Urgencias, se redujo significativamente durante el tratamiento, y esta mejoría se mantuvo en el tiempo. Conclusiones. Un tratamiento integrado para trastornos graves de la personalidad puede ser efectivo para reducir las readmisiones o las estancias hospitalarias prolongadas cuando es implementado por clínicos en condiciones de práctica habitual (AU)

Introduction. Over the past 25 years, several studies have shown the efficacy of a number of psychological interventions for severe personality disorders. However, the generalizability of these positive results from long traditional research settings to more ordinary ones has been questioned, requiring a need for replication in pragmatic studies. Methods. This pragmatic study compares hospitalizations and Emergency Room visits before and during a 6-month therapeutic program for severe personality disorders, and at 36 months after starting it. The therapeutic program, which integrates several specific interventions within a coherent framework, was carried out in an ordinary clinical setting. Fifty-one patients, evaluated according DSM-IV criteria by using the Spanish version of the Structured Clinical Interview for Personality Disorders (SCID-II), were included. Results. The clinical characteristics showed a group of severely disturbed patients, of which 78.4% met criteria for borderline personality disorder. The percentage of patients hospitalized and visiting the Emergency Room, as well as the number of days of hospitalization and Emergency Room visits was significantly reduced during the treatment, and this improvement was maintained throughout. Conclusions. An integrated treatment for severe personality disorders could be effective in preventing reliance on readmissions, or prolonged hospital stays, when it is implemented by clinicians in ordinary clinical settings (AU)

[Effectiveness of an integrated treatment for severe personality disorders. A 36-month pragmatic follow-up]. / Efectividad de un programa terapéutico integrado para trastornos graves de la personalidad. Seguimiento pragmático de 36 meses.

INTRODUCTION: Over the past 25 years, several studies have shown the efficacy of a number of psychological interventions for severe personality disorders. However, the generalizability of these positive results from long traditional research settings to more ordinary ones has been questioned, requiring a need for replication in pragmatic studies. METHODS: This pragmatic study compares hospitalizations and Emergency Room visits before and during a 6-month therapeutic program for severe personality disorders, and at 36 months after starting it. The therapeutic program, which integrates several specific interventions within a coherent framework, was carried out in an ordinary clinical setting. Fifty-one patients, evaluated according DSM-IV criteria by using the Spanish version of the Structured Clinical Interview for Personality Disorders (SCID-II), were included. RESULTS: The clinical characteristics showed a group of severely disturbed patients, of which 78.4% met criteria for borderline personality disorder. The percentage of patients hospitalized and visiting the Emergency Room, as well as the number of days of hospitalization and Emergency Room visits was significantly reduced during the treatment, and this improvement was maintained throughout. CONCLUSIONS: An integrated treatment for severe personality disorders could be effective in preventing reliance on readmissions, or prolonged hospital stays, when it is implemented by clinicians in ordinary clinical settings.

Cognitive conflicts in major depression: between desired change and personal coherence.

OBJECTIVES: The notion of intrapsychic conflict has been present in psychopathology for more than a century within different theoretical orientations. However, internal conflicts have not received enough empirical attention, nor has their importance in depression been fully elaborated. This study is based on the notion of cognitive conflict, understood as implicative dilemma (ID), and on a new way of identifying these conflicts by means of the Repertory Grid Technique. Our aim was to explore the relevance of cognitive conflicts among depressive patients. DESIGN: Comparison between persons with a diagnosis of major depressive disorder and community controls. METHODS: A total of 161 patients with major depression and 110 non-depressed participants were assessed for presence of IDs and level of symptom severity. The content of these cognitive conflicts was also analysed. RESULTS: Repertory grid analysis indicated conflict (presence of ID/s) in a greater proportion of depressive patients than in controls. Taking only those grids with conflict, the average number of IDs per person was higher in the depression group. In addition, participants with cognitive conflicts displayed higher symptom severity. Within the clinical sample, patients with IDs presented lower levels of global functioning and a more frequent history of suicide attempts. CONCLUSIONS: Cognitive conflicts were more prevalent in depressive patients and were associated with clinical severity. Conflict assessment at pre-therapy could aid in treatment planning to fit patient characteristics.

¿Hasta qué punto las psicoterapias específicas para el trastorno límite de la personalidad son eficaces? Una revisión sistemática de los estudios controlados aleatorizados publicados / To what extent are specific psychotherapies for borderline personality disorders efficacious? A systematic review of published randomised controlled trials

Introducción: Durante los últimos 20 años, varios estudios han establecido la eficacia de diferentes formas de psicoterapia para el trastorno límite de la personalidad (TLP).Sin embargo, la investigación existente ha utilizado una amplia gama de medidas de resultado que hace difícil cuantificarlos datos y comparar las intervenciones. Esta revisión ha sido diseñada para analizar la evidencia procedente de los estudios controlados con asignación aleatoria (ECA) mediante un abordaje cualitativo. Metodología: Se ha llevado a cabo una revisión sistemática de los ECA publicados sobre las psicoterapias específicas del TLP para encontrar la literatura relevante recogida en las bases de datos online PsycINFO, ISI Web of Knowledge y Medline. Se ha realizado un análisis de la variabilidad en las variables principales de resultado, los pacientes que abandonan y aquellos que no entran en tratamiento para evaluar si un rango de variación amplio podría indicar algún sesgo potencial. Resultados: Hay una substancial variación entre los estudios en las variables principales de resultado, como los intentos de suicidio (7,4-33,9%), y especialmente en los pacientes que abandonan (6,7-47,4%) y en aquellos que no entran en tratamiento (17,6-63,6%). Globalmente, la psicoterapia específica para el TLP, al menos en un 40% de los pacientes que demandan tratamiento, no sería eficaz. Conclusiones: La eficacia global de las psicoterapias específicas para el TLP es prometedora. Sin embargo, la variabilidad de los resultados, plantea interrogantes sobre potenciales sesgos. Los estudios futuros deberían investigar nuevos abordajes terapéuticos que permitan el manejo de los pacientes más severos y refractarios (AU)

Introduction: Over the past 20 years, several studies have established the efficacy of different forms of psychotherapy for borderline personality disorders (BPD). However, existing research has used a wide range of outcomes measures which makes it difficult to quantify data and to compare interventions. This review has been designed to analyse the evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCT) through a qualitative approach. Methods: A systematic review of published RCT on specific psychotherapies for BPD has been undertaken to find relevant literature from online PsycINFO, ISI Web of Knowledge and Medline databases. An analysis of variability in primary outcomes, dropout patients and those who do not enter treatment has been conducted to assess if a wide range of variation could show any potential bias. Results: There is a substantial variation between the studies in primary outcomes, such as suicide attempts (7.4-33.9%), and specially in dropout patients (6.7-47.4%) and those who do not enter treatment (17.6-63.6%). Globally, specific psychotherapy for BPD, at least in a 40% of patients who demand treatment, would not be efficacious. Conclusions: The overall efficacy of specific therapies for BPD is promising. However, the variability of results raise questions about potential bias. Future studies should investigate new therapeutic approaches to allow the management of more severe and refractory patients (AU)